watson



Patented Nov. 29, I898. H. F. WATSON.

TRIGYCLE (Application filed Oct. 19,. 1897.)

4'$heets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

INVENTOR:

Mfr-l WITNESSES: 3/ 9 No. 6l5,054.

Patented Nov. 29, I898. H. F. WATSON.

TRIGYGLE.

(Application filed Oct. 19, 1897.)

(No Model.)

4 Sheets-Shest 2.

N ENN INVENTOR:

kgNEgs Es THE noams PETERS c0, PHOTOJJTHG. WASHINGTON, n. c.

No. 615,054. Patented Nov. 29,1898. H. F. WATSON.

TRIGYCLE.

(Applicatiozi filed Oct. 19, 1897.)

(No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

W WITNESSES: lN\/ E NTOR= Patented Nov. 29, I898.

H. F. WATSON.

TBICYGLE.

(Application filed Oct. 19, 1897.)

4 Shaets$heet 4.

(No Model.)

TIG.14

INVENTOR:

.Z'YG 5.

WITNESSES:

s/XV' NTTED STATES PATENT FFICE.

HENRY F. \VATSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO HIMSELF AND WILLIAM J.

CHANINEL, OF SAME PLACE.

TRICYCLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 615,054, dated November 29, 1898.

Application filed October 19, 1897- Serial No. 655,661. (No model.)

To CI/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY F. WATSON, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tricycles, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of my invention to provide a tricycle of a simple, inexpensive, and strong, construction, adapted, by reason of the flexibility of those portions of the frame in which the driving wheels are mounted, to run more smoothly and easily than tricycles as heretofore constructed.

It is a further object of my invention to so arrange the component parts of my improved tricycle as to afiord space for baggage-0on taining receptacles which, although of large cubic area, are so fashioned and disposed as not to interfere with the working of the machine or to add to its normal lateral dimensions.

In the accompanying drawings I show, and herein I describe a good form of a convenient embodiment of my invention, the particular subject-matter claimed as novel being hereinafter definitely specified.

It is to be understood that the tricycle represented in the drawings, and which I now proceed to describe, is merely the preferred embodiment of my invention, and that other embodiments, differing materially from it in detail of mechanical construction,can be made without departure from the spirit of my invention.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of my improved tricycle with the luggage hampers shown in place thereon.

Figure 2 is a View partly in side elevation and partly in sectional elevation of the tricycle shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view in perspective of the rear portion of the main frame of the machine, the wheels and other connected parts being omitted for clearness of illustration.

Figure 4: is a view in side elevation of one of the driving sprocket wheels.

Figure 5 is a transverse section of the same.

Figure 6 is a detail of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In the drawings,

A indicates the front or steering wheel, a the steering head, a the handle bar, B the saddle, b the saddle post, and O O the upper and lower longitudinally-extending frame bars of the ordinary diamond frame usually employed in safety bicycles.

At the junction of the saddle post and the bar 0 is supported or journaled in any usual manner a crank axle.

E E indicate the two rear driving wheels which are supported or journaled in the rear portion of the framework in such manner that each is adapted to have revolution independent of the other and each adapted to have vertical movement independent of the other.

This result is accomplished by providing the rear portion of the frame of the machine with two parts, which I term driving wheel housings, capable of vertical movement independent of each other, and by journaling said wheels one in each of said parts.

Each of the driving wheels E E is equipped as to its axle with a sprocket wheel driven by sprocket chains F F in gear with them, and also in gear respectively with two independent sprocket Wheels Gr G mounted free for revolution on or with the crank axle and equipped with cranks and pedals G so that by the rotation of said pedal cranks, and the consequent rotation of said sprocket wheels G G, driving rotation is contemporaneously imparted to both said driving wheels E E.

H II are a pair of horizontally-extending forked members, the front ends of which are journaled upon the respective extremities of the crank axle, but inside of the sprocket Wheels thereof, in such manner that each of said members is adapted for rotative movement with respect to said axle.

Between the legs h h of each of said forked members H is mounted one of the driving 9 ner to receive wheels.

I I are a pair of auxiliary forks, each consisting of a head from which spring two legs 1", each of which forks is disposed at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees and incloses one of the driving wheels,the extremities of said legs being rigidly connected in any usual manner to the extremities of the legs h h, the connection of the forks I I with the forked members II II being further reinforced by heavy mud guard plates h which extend from the upper ends of the legs U to the front ends of the legs 7t 7t, and by the vertically disposed metal guide plates J, each of which is rigidly connected at its upper end to a leg of the fork I and at its lower end to a leg of the forked member H.

L is what I term the rear post of the machine, to which the upper ends of the forks I are connected by a suitable spring connection, whereof hereinafter.

As will be understood, the forked members II and the forks I rigidly connected thereto, form, so to speak, two independent driving wheel housings, or frames; the front ends of the members II being mounted upon the crank axle free for movement independent of each other, and the forks I being connected by a flexible or spring device with the rear post of the main frame, it will be understood that said driving wheel housings are adapted to move vertically, independently of each other, upon the crank axle as an axis, and against the pressure of the spring connection referred to.

As will be understood, therefore, in the propulsion of the device along streets and roads, when one of said driving wheels encounters and passes over an obstruction or protuberance the consequent elevation of said driving wheel will be taken up, so to speak, in the spring connection between its housing and the main frame, and will not be communicated to the other driving wheel,-which, with the front or steering wheel, will remain upon the level ground and maintain the weight of the rider, who will thus receive no appreciable jar or jolt from the passage of the wheel over the obstacle.

The rear post L is, as a matter of convenience, formed as two bars, designated If L respectively,of the general form clearly shown in Figure 3, the upper ends of said members being connected, as rear posts are in the ordinary form of bicycle frames, to the main frame, beneath the saddle, said two members L' L being rigidly connected together by a brace L extending from one bar to the other and provided with collars encompassing both, and which brace is provided with protruding extremities L carrying depending bolts or lugs L ,said bars being further connected at their lower extremities by a second brace If.

The lower extremities of said bars are provided, respectively, with outwardly extending lugs If, engaged, respectively, in the lonthe axles c of the driving gitudinal guide openings in the guide plates J hereinbefore referred to, said lugs being securely retained in place within said guide openings by nuts or enlargements of any preferred kind mounted upon their free extremities.

In the vertical swing or movement of the driving wheel housings, therefore, said housings are guided by the engagement of said guide plates (which form a part of and move with the driving Wheel housing,)-with the lugs projecting from the rear post bars I) described.

It will be understood, of course, that the engagement of said lugs L in said guide plates J prevents the driving wheel housings from spreading away from each other in the operation of the machine.

Any preferred spring connection may obviously be resorted to to connect the driving wheel housings with the rear post, and to act, so to speak, as a buffer, between said housings and said frame.

I prefer to provide the upper end of each of the forks I, which are situated in the vicinity of the protruding extremities L of the brace, with disk-like heads i and to interpose between said disk heads and the protruding extremities L referred to, strong helical expansion springs M, the lower ends of which springs are engaged with said disk plates by fitting snugly within upturned rims mounted on the same,-and the upper ends of said springs being spirally wound upon the bolts or similar devices If depending from the projections IF and having prolongations which extend down within the bores of said springs.

The springs being, as described, expansion springs, they tend to resist the elevation of the driving wheel housings, and to force said wheel housings downward, and the said springs may therefore be described as acting as buffers.

In order to prevent the jar of the parts which might ensue when one of the wheel housings is violently elevated and compresses its buffer spring M, I provide in the center of each of the disks i a rubber cushion 2' adapted, in the compression of the spring, and the approach of a disk to a projection L to be encountered by the depending bolt L" described, and thus prevent the disk head from coming into violent contact with said projection I1 IVithin the triangular space between the saddle post the rear post and the forked members II is disposed a triangular box or hamper N, which nearly fills said space, and is of breadth approximately equal to the distance apart of the sprocket wheels on the crank axle, care being taken that said box or hamper be restricted to this breadth in order to prevent interference with the action of the pedal cranks.

Said box or hamper is conveniently retained in position by U-bolts 02 which pass about the saddle post and engage with the front wall of the hamper, and a keeper mount-' ed on the rear wall of said hamper and engaged with the bars L of the rear post L.

Any suitable door or opening may, of course, be formed in this hamper.

A second hamper, P, of a general triangular shape, and of breadth slightly less than the distance between the driving wheels, is mounted upon the rear post of the machine in the manner shown particularly in Figures 1 and 2, said hamper, as to the upper part of its front face, bearing against the upper part of the rear post of the main frame and being secured in position,-with the lower portion of its front face held out to clear the sprocket wheels of the driving wheels,by the twoarmed keeper 0, mounted upon the transverse brace L of the rear post of the main frame, eyes at the free extremities of said keeper registering with corresponding eyes connected with said hamper. A bolt passing through the eyes of the hamper and the eyes of the keeper locks the hamper firmly in position.

The said hamper may have such rearward extension as the constructor may desire, and is to be equipped with doors or openings p, the approximately triangular form of said hamper P being such as is best adapted to fit the available space and to at the same time impart a symmetrical appearance to the vehicle as a whole.

The attachment of the hamper P with the main frame may be reinforced by the engagement of locking plates 13X connected to its respective sides, with the transverse bar L of the rear post L.

The sprocket driving wheels G are each formed in two parts, namely, a central spider g and an annular toothed sprocket rim g mounted and adapted for movement upon the periphery of said spider, each spider being secured to or integral with a pedal axle.

A projection 9 carried by the sprocket spider is adapted to encounter a corresponding projection g mounted on the sprocket rim, so that rotation imparted, through the pedal cranks to said spider, is, through said projections, communicated to the sprocket rim, and in the normal operation of the machine said projections remain in contact and the spider and rim rotate as a single integral wheel.

In the operation of the machine, however, as is manifest, when the vehicle follows a curved instead of a straight course, as in turning a corner, the outer driving wheel will be caused to travel a greater distance in the same time than the inner wheel, and obviously if the ordinary solid sprocket wheels were employed this would cause the grinding or scraping of the tires upon the ground and their consequent rapid wearing away.

With my improved form of two part sprocket wheel, however, the excessive moturn is unrestricted, but said excessive motion of a driving wheel is merely communicated to a sprocket rim and causes said sprocket rim to travel slightly faster than the spider upon which it is mounted, thus taking up, so to speak, the excessive motion of the driving-wheel.

In the movement described of the sprocket rim independent of the sprocket spider upon which it is mounted, the projection g of the sprocket rim is carried away from the projection g of the sprocket spider, and, for the time being propulsion is imparted to the machine from the crank axle through the other sprocket wheel and sprocket chain in communication with the driving wheel which was the inner wheel in making the turn.

In the continued operation of the machine after the turn is made the continued rotation imparted to the pedal cranks and to the spider, will cause the projection of the spider to almost immediately overtake and again encounter the projection of the sprocket rim, and thereupon said two members will under the actuation of the pedal cranks again rotate as a single integral wheel.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In a three wheeled vehicle, in combination, a main frame provided with asteering wheel, and with two independently movable rear frames or housings in each of which is mounted a driving wheel, a crank or motor shaft, and means for transmitting the movement of said shaft to a driving wheel, substantially as set forth.

2. In combination, in a tricycle, a main frame connected with which are two forks in parallelism with each other, and each independent of the other, wheels mounted one in each of said forks, said forks being so related to the main frame as to be each capable of vertical movement with respect to the body of the frame independently of each other, a crank or motor shaft, means for transmitting motion from said shaft by independent trains of gearing to said driving wheels, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination, in a tricycle, a main frame embodying two forks in parallelism with each other and each independent of the other, Wheels mounted one in each of said forks, said forks being so related to the main frame as to be capable of movement with respect to the body of the frame independently of the other, springs which normally maintain said forks in their normal positions and act as buffers to resist such independent motion, and guides which direct the independent movements of said forks, substantially as set forth.

4. In combination, in a tricycle, a main frame embodying two forks in parallelism with each other and each independent of the other, wheels mounted one in each of said forks, said forks being so related to the main tion of the outer driving wheel in making a 1 frame as to be capable of movement with respect to the body of the frame each independently of the other, and two trains of driving mechanism for imparting rotation to said two wheels, substantially as set forth.

5. In a tricycle, in combination with a main frame including the steering head, saddle post, and a rear post, a pedal axle, a pair of horizontally-extendin g forked members journaled on the pedal axle, a pair of driving wheels mounted in the forks of said forked members, and a spring connection between said forked members, and the rear post, substantially as set forth.

6. In a tricycle, in combination, the saddle post, the steering head, the steering wheel, frame members connecting said saddle post and steering head, the rear post, pedals and a crank or pedal axle, apair of forked 1nembers mounted on the crank or pedal axle,driving wheels journaled in said forked members, two trains of gearing independently connecting the pedals or pedal axle to the two driving wheels, auxiliary forks mounted on said forked members, spring connections between the upper ends of said auxiliary forks and the rear post, guide plates connecting the auxiliary forks with the forked members, and lugs or projections carried by the rear post and engaged with said guide plates, substantially as set forth.

'7. In a tricycle,in combination with the saddle post, the steering head, a steering wheel, members connecting said saddle post and steering head, a rear post formed as two bars connected by transverse braces, pedals, sprocket wheels connected with said pedals, a pair of forked members mounted on the crank or pedal axle, driving wheels journaled in said forked members, two trains of gearing independently connecting the sprocket wheels to the two driving wheels, auxiliary forks mounted on said forked members, and a spring connection between the upper ends of said auxiliary forks and the rear post, substantially as set forth.

8. In a tricycle, in combination with the main frame, the steering wheel, and two driving wheels each equipped with sprocket wheels, two independent sprocket wheels mounted on a crank or pedal axle, and two independent sprocket chains connecting the sprocket wheels on the pedal axle to those connected with the driving wheels,each pedal axle sprocket wheel being formed in two parts, namely, a central spider and an annular sprocket rim adapted for rotative movement on said spider, and aprojection on one of said sprocket members adapted to make engagement with a projection on the other of said sprocket members, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have hereunto signed my name this th day of August, A. D. 1897.

HENRY F. \VATSON.

In presence of F. NORMAN DIXON, Tnos. K. LANCASTER. 

